Sound-absorbing and heat-insulating material, and process for making the same



- UUIVIIUDI I IUND,

m TI 8 A .I DI R O G m T A 0 C I. COMERMA.

SOUND ABSORBING AND HEAT INSULATING MATERIAL AND PROCESS FOR MAKING THESAME APPLICATION FILED MAR. 1. I920.

Pa -.ented Nov. 16, 1920.

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IELJF INVENTOR: n C omzrm ov A TTOANE K.

tam-b UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN COMERMA, or NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO HARRY B. nassorr, or NEWYORK, N. Y.

SOUND-ABSORBING AND HEAT-INSULATING MATERIAL, AND PROCESS FOR MAKING THESAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed March 1, 1920. Serial No. 362,525.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I J OHN COMERMA, a sub- 'ect of the King of Spain,residing in New ork city, in the county of New York and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSound-Absorbing and Heat-Insulating Materials, and Processes for Makingthe Same, of which the following is a full, clear, and concise descrition.

l\ y invention relates to the preparation and use of a material suitablefor facing walls, arches, ceilings, partitions, floors, etc., and isusually employed in buildings, but may be used elsewhere as occasion mayrequire.

My improved material has a considerable degree of flexibility, andbecause of this quality it may be slightly bent, sprung, flexed orshaped in order to adapt it to a particular fitting; or it may be builtin a single piece, in the position it is to occupy; and it may be usedto advantage in structures which are subjected to strains or stresses,so that the material, after being placed in position, is adapted to flexeither constantly or from time to time, according to the stresses orstrains. In some instances my material can be laid with a trowel, orwith a float or similar implement.

My improved material has the property of absorbing sound vibration, andis adapted to prevent certain acousticaldifiiculties due to excessivereverberation or to'the undesirable focusing of sound waves.

My improved material has very little heat conductivity, and on thisaccount it is of service in preventing the travel of heat through it; sothat the material may be used in some instances to conserve the use offuel and in others to protect various other materials and structuralparts from the destructive or injurious effects of heat.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, and in which like reference characters indicate likeparts throughout the several figures.

Figure 1 is an enlarged sectional view of my material.

Fig. 2 is a section through a block or plate of my material, made inthis instance with special reference to its flexibility.

At 3 are shown granules, or particles of body material, which areinterspersed throughout the entire mass. These particles of bodymaterial are preferably graded to substantially the same size, as hereshown, but if desired may be left ungraded and thus may havesubstantially different sizes. They usually vary as to shape, as shown.In the particular instance here illustrated they are made of cork. butthey may be made of sand. cl'ushetm or the like. I prefer to use ('OIK.owing o the excellence of the qualitmconfers upon the final product; andif cork is unavailable or its cost prohibitive, wood sawdust may be usedas a substitute.

Each particle of body material carries a coatin 4 of cement prepared andapplied as hereinai'ter described, this coating being provided withminute holes or interstices 5. Because of these holes or interstices,each coating is porous and the porosity of the material as a whole isimproved.

A mass of fibrous material 6, consisting preferably of iair. e or as)estos. extends throughou 1e 11c use and envelops the particles of bodymaterial. Each individual particle 3, with its coating at. is completelyenveloped within the portion of the fibrous material immediatelyadjacent, which adheres firmly to the cement coating. Thus the particlesof body material immediately contiguous to each other do not touch eachother at all except in instances where direct contact is accidental, andthey are not connected each to the other except by the fibrous material.The fibrous material, however, is treated as hereinafter described inorder to improve its qualities as a binder. this step being performedbefore the fibrous material is brought into contact with the particlesof body material.

In the preparation of my improved material. I proceed as follows:

First, I take a suitable quantity of Portland cement. in the form of adry powder, ant mix 1 with one per cent. by volume of bicarbonate ofsoda, also in the form of a ry powc er. 1e reason for adding thebicarbonate of soda is to render the cement a little more stronglyalkaline than would otherwise be the case. The mixture has of course theform of a dry powder, and in this form I spread it out upon a board.

Second, I take a suitable quantity of par- COATING OR PLASTIC.

a Ullltll, I take H18 '85 Cork gl'illlll GS ticles of body material, saycork granules, pour them into a tub of water, and there agitate themuntil they are thoroughly wet. The agitation may be done by hand or byaid of machinery.

Third, in a separate vessel or upon a dry board I mix together, in a drystate, a quantity of fibrous material, preferably hair, felt orasbestos, and Portland cement, in the proportion of six iarts of thefibrous material to one rom the tub and lay them on a board with theabove mentioned dry powder consisting of Portland cement and one part ofbicarbonate of soda. The mass thus formed is now thoroughly worked,either by hand or by aid of machinery. The result is that each granuleof cork becomes coated. During this step a chemical reaction takes placebetween the alkaline components of the cement and the tannic acidinherent in the cork granules. In this connection it may be noted thatcork, being made of the bark of the cork oak, contains tannic acid as isthe case with all other barks of the oak family. As a result of thischemical reaction minute bubbles of gas are formed upon the surfaces ofthe cork granules and make their escape through the coatings, wherebythe latter are provided with minute holes, which ultimately assume theform shown at Fifth, I place upon the board just mentioned and alongwith the granules of cork thus coated, the dry mixture of fibrous n1.terial and cement above described, the proportions being five parts ofcoated granules to seven parts of the dry mixture of fibrous materialand cement. The entire mixture thus formed is now stirred and workedvigorously. The small content of dry cement carried by the fibrousmaterial becomes moist from the presence of the cork granules, and thusrenders the fibrous material more or less adhesive throughout its mass.This all occurs while the cement coatings of the cork granules are stillplastic, and while the minute holes or interstices 5 are still beingformed. As the result of the working of the entire mass of material asjust described, each granule with its coating is completely enveloped.individually, within the fibrous material, and consequently does nottouch any of the others. Each individual granule is held firmly by thefibrous material, and the stability and strength of the fibrous materialis increased by the presence of the cement which is interspersedthroughout its mass. The fibrous material is ramificd hroughout theentire mass, and holds each granule in suspension. Thus the separateparticles of body material are not stuck together. and are movablerelatively to each other within the narrow limits permitted by thefibrous material. Such being the case my finished material hasconsiderable elasticity and flexibility, and is distinctly cellular instructure throughout the entire mass.

is the cement gradually sets, it of course becomes dry, and any excessof water held in the material dries out by evaporation. As the corkgranules dry out, they gradually become reduced in size. Because of thisfact the intercellular spaces throughout the entire mass are virtuallyincreased in size and number. Thus the etiicicncy of the finishedmaterial is increased still further, as to each of the general purposesfor which the material is intended.

The sound absorbing and heat insulating qualities of the material abovedescribed at length are very great, and the material can be used in anyrelation where it is customarv to employ sound absorbing or heatinsulating material. It can be made into blocks, slabs, plates, sheets,bricks, boards or the like, or as above stated it may be built in thefirst instance as a facing in position, or in some cases it can be laidinto its final position by means of a trowel. or the like.

In Fig. 2 I show a block or plate of my material so formed andconstructed as to present rather unusual qualities of flexibility andelasticity. Two portions 7. 8 of the material are located upon oppositesides of the web 9 of burlap or other fabric to which the materialadheres directly. In this instance the finished block or plate can beflexed or bent to a remarkable degree, and on this account it is adaptedto undergo either m0- mentary fiexure or permanent distortion.

I do not limit myself to the precise details here set forth, asvariations may be made therefrom without departing from my invention,the scope of which is commensurate with my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Let ters Patent is as follows:

1. A material of the character described, comprising fibrous materialand particles of body material interspersed throughout said fibrousmaterial and separated from others of its kind immediately adjacent.

2. A material of the character described, containing fibrous materialand particles of body material dispersed throughout said fibrousmaterial and adhering thereto, each particle of body material beingsegregated from others of its kind immediately adjacent, and out ofcontact therewith.

3. A material of the character described, containing fibrous materialand particles of body material each individually enveloped by saidfibrous material and thereby supported out of contact with the others ofits kind immediately adjacent.

4. A sound absorbing and heat insulating material containing fibrousmaterial and particles of granular material interspersed than; orFiAsnc.

throughout said fibrous material and supported thereby, each of saidparticles of granular material being completely segregated from othersof its kind immediately adjacent.

5. In a sound absorbing and heat insulating material, particles of bodymaterial immediately contiguous to each other, and means for preventingeach particle from touching other particles of its kind in its immediatevicinity.

6. A sound absorbing and heat insulating material containing corkgranules interspersed throughout the mass of material and supported outof contact with each other.

7. A sound absorbing and heat insulating material containing corkgranules each coated with cement, and a binder to which said cementadheres.

8. A sound absorbing and heat insulating material containing particlesof body material each individually provided with a coating of cement,and means coacting with the coatings of cement for supporting saidparticles of body material each out of contact with others of its kindimmediately contiguous.

9. In a sound absorbing and heat insulating material, a plurality ofparticles of body material, each particle having an individual coatingof adhesive material, each coating having openings, and a mass of hairfelt to which said coatings adhere.

10. A sound absorbing andheat insulating material containing corkgranules each having a coating of adhesive material, and a binderconsisting of hair felt to which said coatings adhere directly.

11. In a sound absorbing and heat insulating material, cork granuleseach provided with a coating of cement, said coating being provided withopenings, and a quantity of hair felt to which said coatings adheredirectly.

12. The method, herein described, of making a sound absorbing and heatinsulating material, which consists in providing cork granules, coatingthe same individually with an adhesive, bringing the cork granules upcoated into contact with loose fibrous material in order to completelyenvelop each individual cork granule in said fibrous material, so as tosupport said cork granules each out of contact with others of its kindimmediately adjacent, and finally allowing said adhesive to harden.

13. The method herein described of making a sound absorbing and heatinsulating material, which consists in providing particles of bodymaterial, coating said bodies individually with cement having theproperties of an adhesive, bringing said bodies thus coated into contactwith fibrous material capable of adhering to said cement, and finallyallowing said cement to set.

JOHN COMERMA.

